No. 5 Minnesota Morris upsets No. 4 Northland to advance to UMAC men's basketball semifinal
ASHLAND, Wis.---For the first time since 2004-05, Northland College found itself in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men's basketball championship tournament after a huge tournaround season as the No. 4 seed, while the University of Minnesota Morris sealed up its 10th-consecutive postseason berth – as the No. 5 seed – last weekend.
After a back-and-forth start to a competitive first half, the No. 5 Cougars pulled away late in the waning minutes to take a halftime lead before pulling away for a 89-76 win over the No. 4 Lumber Jacks, therfore, advancing to the UMAC men's semifinal against No. 1 University of Northwestern.
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Box Score |
Tournament Site |
Heading into Monday's matchup, the No. 4 Lumber Jacks were hoping to make it three wins in a row against the Cougars after taking both games of the regular season, while the Cougars were looking for their first tournament win since 2014-15. Unfortunately for the Lumber Jacks, the third time was a charm for the Cougars in the opening quarterfinal.
With just 4:45 remaining in the opening 20 minutes, the game was knotted at 30, but the Cougars managed to build a four-point 39-35 lead before heading to the locker room at the intermission.
The second half started off with the Cougars taking the first bucket, but the Lumber Jackets scored the next five points to pull within one at 16:25. However, the Lumber Jacks couldn't hold off the Cougars as they went on a 15-2 run to push their lead to as many as 13 points with just over 10 minutes left before cruising to the win.
CD Douglas made a living at the charity stripe for the Cougars making 17-of-18 to finish the night with 23 points and nine rbounds. Tyler Ukkleberg also pulle din nine boards and added 16 points. For the Jacks, Dan Campion made nine 3-pointers for a 29-point performance to end his impressive career.
Monday's quarterfinal sets the stage for two exciting semifinals Wednesday. The No. 5 Cougars will face No. 1 University of Northwestern at 7:30 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota, while No. 2 Bethany Lutheran College will host No. 3 College of St. Scholastica at 7:30 p.m. in Mankato, Minnesota.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the
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Playoff Schedule
Quarterfinal Round – Monday, Feb. 20
No. 5 Minnesota Morris def No. 4 Northland, 89-76 |
Box Score |
Semifinal Round – Wednesday, Feb. 22
No. 5 Minnesota Morris AT No. 1 Northwestern; St. Paul, Minn., 7:30 p.m. |
Live Stats |
Live Video |
No. 3 St. Scholastica AT No. 2 Bethany Lutheran; Mankato, Minn., 7:30 p.m. |
Live Stats |
Live Video |
Championship – Saturday, Feb. 25
Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed; Location TBD, 7:30 p.m.